Are we celebrating the birth of a nation or the death of society? It’s hard to tell the difference this year.
America celebrates its 244th birthday today. The fourth of July. The day the Declaration of Independence was signed by America’s forefathers. Thinking back on my childhood, Independence Day meant picnics and barbecues, fun and fireworks, and spending time with friends and family. Articles and television broadcasts covered the valiant struggle to achieve Independence. But as a child, I focused on the fun aspect of the day and not on the battles or the loss of life. Most, if not all, of those childhood memories, have been shattered by a deadly virus that has claimed the lives of more than 132 thousand people. On the heels of this deadly plague, we have the destruction of property and monuments through protests and violence.
Focusing on the good times of the past and trying to enjoy the day is a dream when I can’t visit my community’s gorgeous outdoor pool because I need to make an appointment and have a limited time frame for that visit. Do I even want to attempt to schedule a time (if there are any available) or do I just stay home and possibly go see fireworks to have a celebration?
Most, if not all the firework displays have been canceled. So that’s out. But maybe there will be displays on television that I could watch, but it’s not the same. Parks and beaches are closed. Boat ramps are closed. Many restaurants are closed or are open to half capacity. We’re destined to stay home just as authorities dictated. Nothing is as it was.
Over fifty years ago, I spent a summer in Europe. I remember thinking how grateful I was to live in America and couldn’t wait to come home because there were so many conveniences that were lacking. Amenities I missed. Now I’m wondering if that gratitude was misplaced.
What happened to the country I love? Could it be that we’re entering the final phases of an industrial societal collapse? Based on the 10-year-old, 8,000-word essay by Peter Goodchild, there are 14 parts of the demise of a society. They are interrelated and cascade into one another.
So what are they? The shortage of fossil fuels, metals, and electricity. The scarcity of basic life needs such as food and fresh water. The transportation and communication infrastructure crumbles. Societal relationships in government, education, and labor deteriorate. Finally, true anarchy forces its way into our lives with crime, cults, craziness, chaos.
Based on this list, I’d say the United States is well on its way to complete destruction. But, wait. Do we want to give up our way of life because research has shown this happened in the Hittite Empire, the Western Roman Empire, the Gupta Empires in India, the Han and Tang dynasties in China, and the Mayans? Or do we fight like the ancestors this nation fought for a well-earned liberation?
Our first independence was fraught with the sound of cannons and guns, but I would hope today’s fight would be fought on our knees. I’m but one of the millions who have been praying for our nation, our leaders, and our people. All people.
I often pray this verse:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chron 14:7 KJV
Won’t you join me today and pray for the healing of our land? It’s the only way.
Let’s look at the context for the book of Joel and today’s verse. Joel was one of the twelve minor prophets in the Bible. The Bible doesn’t tell us anything more about him other than his father’s name, Pethuel. Sometimes the Bible gives the reader enormous detail about certain things and other times, it does not. If the Bible repeats something many times, it’s important and the reader should note it.
This wasn’t the only instance in Israel’s history where there were swarms of locusts. In the book of Exodus, we see swarms of locusts when Pharoah would not let the people of Israel leave Egypt. In 1915 a devastating plague of locusts covered what is modern-day Israel and Syria. The first swarms came in March, in clouds so thick they blocked out the sun. The female locusts immediately began to lay eggs, 100 at a time. Witnesses say that in one square yard, there were 65,000 to 75,000 eggs. In a few weeks, they hatched, and the young locusts resembled large ants. They couldn’t fly yet and got along by hopping. They marched along 400 to 600 feet a day, devouring every speck of vegetation along the way. After two more stages of molting, they became adults who could fly—and the devastation continued. And we will see, this same devastation in the time of tribulation in the book of Revelation which mirrors the time of Exodus.
The middle east is not the only place where locust devastation has occurred. The U.S. had its own devastation back in the 1870s. Here is a link to a great article on U.S. devastation: